The Path of Ascension 5: A LitRPG Adventure

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That rift felt like something a Seeker would do well in, and both Quill and Torch knew that they wouldn’t be getting any rewards from maze type rifts in the near future. Unless they were able to bypass the actual maze somehow.

They easily decided to forgo those luck-based rifts and agreed to stick to rifts where combat prowess was the deciding factor.

Wanting to see what the mysterious other side of the planet was about, they moved along at a half-decent flying speed, admiring the well-crafted city that Tur’stal had built. They carefully plotted their approach for the next challenge as they went, determined to assert themselves as the best The Path had to offer.

12

The rifts they passed were all central to the construction of the various buildings and shops that the crafting Pathers were already settling into which created interesting pathways and buildings they flew over.

Eventually, after nearly an hour of slow flying, they came to a large square formed around two rifts on opposite sides.

From the giant projections, Quill was able to see two different teams fighting against seemingly random monsters on a hovering plane of light in the darkness. It was one of the most popular forms of entertainment after the big three.

The endless rifts.

They were a huge attraction just for that very reason; it was an opportunity to show off against an endless stream of random monsters that grew stronger as you progressed.

Everyone coming to the tournament had hyped the rifts up, and they seemed to have lived up to it. The event especially drew the teams that were on standby and had little else to do but watch. Learning about the competition was always a good move, and Quill approved.

While it wasn’t earning anyone points, learning about your soon to be foes was an acceptable pastime.

Wanting to get closer, Quill moved forward until he could feel the rift in his spiritual sense.

Getting close only confirmed what he suspected. The rifts felt off, wrong somehow.

A normal rift felt like a tear in the fabric of reality, but with had a sense of rigidity and firmness that these lacked.

The pair of what Quill suspected were copied rifts felt like the reflection of a shadow.

When he had been creating rifts by the dozens, he had heard of them, but the actual practice of copying rifts was rarely done.

First and foremost, the act of copying the rift created a weaker version that took more mana to run. Secondly, it had a completely new and random drop table, no matter what the copiers did.

To add a final insult, the act of copying the rift also damaged the original rift. Luckily the damage wasn’t permanent, but that meant they could only copy it once again after the rift had restabilized.

Few people bothered with the expense and difficulty of copying a rift unless there was something particularly special in the rift itself.

Something like the dragon blood from the boss monster in the rift that Mara and Leon had taken.

Or, in this case, the unique rift challenge style of endless stage combat. The rift was prized for its ability to push a delver to their limits, then through them.

The rewards were secondary in the two Tier 14 rifts. Still, they just plainly felt wrong to his spiritual sense.

Looking up at the live projections of the team fighting, as it was replaced with another instance, Quill whistled in appreciation.

Another effect of having copied rifts was a weaker spatial wall in each instance, allowing for people to actively watch what was going on with minimal delay.

Even now, there was a local channel on his AI that he could tap into and watch the various teams in near real-time. Meanwhile, the larger screens showed highlights of each team, and simultaneously focused on the team that had made it the farthest.

Torch came up to him and pointed at one of the non-leading teams as they appeared on the screen. She messaged, “That was the third team to enter, and they’re currently on the second wave of high Tier 12 monsters.”

Checking the time, it had taken them over six hours to make it that far. Quill scoffed.

That really was slow, and while there was nothing wrong with ‘slow and steady’, they were advancing at a glacial pace.

Blinking, Matt felt eyes on both him and Torch as they watched their surroundings. That caused him to wonder…

If these people saw our standoff with the Gems and the other top masked teams, then they likely think we have something to say.

The personality he had cultivated for Quill had its advantages, but at times like this, it forced him to do things that he felt were mean.

Quill would be just as appalled with some of the showings as most of the proud and braggart nobles I’ve been forced to interact with. How can we spin this to make these watchers get mad enough to force some more intense competition, and show their hands?

With that thought, a plan formed in his head as he leaned toward Torch and stage whispered, “Are they taking naps after each wave? For f**k’s sake.” Quill honestly was surprised they had only made it that far.

Still, others in the crowd threw curses at him, most insisting on wanting to see him try and do better if he was able to talk that s**t so casually.

A fair ask, but he gave them a middle finger as his only response. His comment had been spoken to Torch alone, not the whole crowd. At least, that’s what he wanted them to think.

One of the more battered-looking teams took enough offense to actually confront him.

Hook, line, and sinker.

A shorter woman with fresh blood staining her light armor chest piece pointed at him with a bow in her hand and sneered, “For a bloke who just showed up, you spittin’ a lot of s**t through that silly mask of yours. Naw, I’d like to see you go at this too. When’s your crew signed up for? With fightin’ words like that, must be next, right? Let’s see you put your money where your mouth is.”

Quill turned and scoffed at the woman. His mask feigned a shocked expression to mock her. “No, my friend, we actually haven’t signed up yet. Regardless, we’d have easily been slapping around the mid-Tier 13s in half that time, if not less.”

Matt wanted to let it drop there, as his statement hadn’t seemed to have the desired effect. He had only caused more outrage, rather than enthusiasm, but the woman took it personally. She shouted, “So you talk a lot of s**t, but haven’t actually done anything? How mighty impressive. You can’t judge another team like that.”